Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

The Classic Adaptation 221Bonito, where two of six corner doors (in rooms 228Band 225B) also capture light rays during the wintersolstice sunrise (Reyman 1976, 1978a, 1978c, 1979).Were there exterior second-story rooms at PuebloBonito that would have blocked the light rays passingthrough the doorways (Williamson et al. 1977)? Or,as Cooper (1995) suggests, did they facilitatemovement within a set of interconnected rooms?Both Reyman (1987) and Zeilik (1985b, 1987)reviewed the ethnographic literature to determine somecommon Pueblo religious practices; Zeilik observedthat the historic sun-watcher predicts the time ofchange in the sun's position. He noted the followingpoints:•A religious office (usually the sun priest) isinvested \vith the responsibility of \vatching thesun.• Observations take place at sunrise (usually) andsunset (less often) from within or close to thepueblo.• Observation sites with calendrical functions aremost likely to be within or close to the pueblo;the place is rarely marked.• Horizon marks are most commonly used toestablish the sun's seasonal position; observinglight and shadow through windows is lessfrequently employed. Horizon markers can berather small changes in relief; shrines may belocated at the sun's key positions on the horizon.• The most important times in the ritual calendarsare the solstices, especially in winter; the sunpriest also keeps track of the basic plantingcalendar from April to June.• The sun priest must be able to announce thesolstices ahead of time; he does so byanticipatory observations made about two weeksbefore the solstice when the sun is still movinga noticeable distance along the horizon each day.• The site and technique for the anticipatoryobservations are usually the same as those usedfor confirmatory observations.The anticipation and prediction of events are importantbecause people need time to prepare for ceremonies.At the solstice, the sun stands still for four days;therefore, the sun priest would have difficultydetermining which day is the actual solstice. Learninghow to make correct predictions would take a periodof several years, during which the observation ofhorizon markers would be made and a count kept todetermine the best time for the ceremony.Zeilik (1987) applied these observations to sitesin Chaco Canyon. Like Reyman (1971) andWiHiamson (1982; Williamson et al. 1975, 1977), atCasa Rinconada both anticipatory and confirmatoryobservations could be made. Yet the lack ofknowledge about the original condition of this greatkiva and the lack of historic use of great kivas as sunwatchingstations cast doubt on this inference. AtPueblo Bonito, the two corner doorways could be usedto confirm the winter solstice as well as anticipate it.If outer second-story walls were present, however, theviews would have been blocked.Architectural alignments also have beendocumented. Initial observations at Casa Rinconadaand Great Kiva A at Pueblo Bonito indicated that theywere constructed along the north-south axes of symmetry,as was the dividing wall in the plaza at PuebloBonito. The west side of the south wall that enclosesthe plaza has an east-west alignment. This documentationby Williamson et al. (1977) expanded thetypes of data that suggested astronomical knowledgeby the Chacoans.Using these observations as an initiative, Fritz(1978, 1987) attempted to discover what aspects of theideational system could be detected in the spatialordering of sites. He observed asymmetrical positionswithin sites (e.g., the east-west division of PuebloBonito into two plaza spaces), and among sites (e.g.,the north-south axis that runs from Pueblo Alto toCasa Rinconada to shrine 29SJ1207 to Tsin Kletsin),and a north-south division of features in CasaRinconada and through the canyon if one draws a linefrom Una Vida to Penasco Blanco. He interpretedthese to represent social asymmetry, with those havingthe greatest power utilizing the great houses on thenorthern side of the canyon. Mediation between thesacred and everyday worlds was expressed through